School rowers up there with best

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Twenty-six Marlborough secondary school rowing crews were in action yesterday, as the biggest-yet Aon Maadi Cup regatta began on Lake Ruataniwha, near Twizel.

On a day of heats, raced initially with a light tailwind then, later in the day, into a headwind, the nine Marlborough Boys' College crews produced some eye-catching performances. MBC crews won five heats, all the rowers in action progressing to either semifinals, quarterfinals or repechages.

Coach Bill Campbell said his charges had done what was expected of them. "We had a pretty good day actually. A couple of the boys were a bit crook but they performed too." The under-15 double of Jack Delaveau and Nathan Honeybone won their heat and progressed straight to the quarterfinals. They were followed by the under-16 coxed quad of Robson Davies, Isaiah Miller, Angus McFarlane, Leith Gilmore and coxswain Trent Burbidge who also won their heat and will next race a semifinal. Another heat winner was the under-18 lightweight coxed four of Campbell Stevens, Zack Andrews, Jordon Gasson, Rainer Wichman and Burbidge, who will also go straight to a semifinal.

One of the most noteworthy MBC performances of the day came from the under-16 coxed four of Davies, Miller, Delaveau, Cameron Donald and coxswain Alex Hill, who registered the fastest heat time by almost 10 seconds, and beat the Hamilton BHS crew on their way to the semis. "That was a good race"' said Campbell. "We beat the top guns from up north. They really performed well those boys. They went away by a good length at the finish." Another top performance came from a crew which didn't qualify directly for the semis, the under-18 coxed four crew of Stevens, Andrews, Gasson, Wichman and Burbidge who finishing second in their heat after rubbing shoulders with the Springbok Four contenders. Because of sickness among this lightweight crew, which contains two under-16 rowers in Stevens and Gasson, Campbell set a race plan that involved leading through the 1000m mark, which they did, to measure themselves against the heavier crew. "They headed the field through the 1000, which is all we wanted to do at this stage," explained Campbell. "They didn't try much in the second 1000 and they still managed to get second, so that's how far in front they were at halfway." They will now attempt to reach the final through a repechage.

The other MBC heat winners were McFarlane and Gilmore in the under-16 double, who sculled very well, according to Campbell. They move to the quarterfinals.

It was busy day for the Marlborough Girls' College support staff, with 16 crews on the water during a hectic first day.

Most crews will have to race repechages to make further progress with the exception of the under-18 novice double crews of Brydie Godsiff and Susie Grigg who finished third in their heat, and Ella Irvine with Tahlia Thompson who came fourth in another heat, both crews qualifying for the quarterfinals. The under-16 coxed quad of Ahlia Hicks, Meg Hocquard, Samantha Lawrence, Molly Ramsay and Bianca Sisson finished third in their heat and progress straight to a quarterfinal, as do the under-15 double of Sophie Robinson and Stella Blake, who also finished third in their heat.

MGC head coach Dave Williamson said his charges had done as well as expected. He was particularly impressed with the progress of the under-15 coxed quad comprising Sophie Robinson, Kate Rawcliffe, Charlotte McKee, Blake and Isabel Cowlishaw ,who came home second in their heat. "They have only been together for two weeks, " said Williamson, "they were the crew of the day. We also have high hopes for the lightweight four who set a good time in their heat. Quite a few of the girls had three races today, there were some pretty tired units here tonight. The competition is obviously pretty tough."

Queen Charlotte College sculler Caitlin Harvey, a bronze medallist in the under-17 single last year and the sole representative from the Picton school, was a heat winner in the under-18 single scull and progresses directly to the semifinals. The event has attracted 2108 students representing 125 schools across 50 event classes, the largest Maadi Cup gathering in its 67-year history.